“The appeal of political correctness is that it attempts to change men’s souls by altering how they speak. If one sufficiently reforms language, certain thoughts become unthinkable, and the world moves in the approved direction.”

Engineering Souls http://www.city-journal.org/html/17_2_sndgs03.html (March 22, 2007).
City Journal (1998 - 2008)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update March 29, 2025. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The appeal of political correctness is that it attempts to change men’s souls by altering how they speak. If one suffic…" by Theodore Dalrymple?
Theodore Dalrymple photo
Theodore Dalrymple 96
English doctor and writer 1949

Related quotes

Tom Robbins photo
Billy Connolly photo

“Politically correct is the language of cowardice.”

Billy Connolly (1942) British comedian

An Audience With Billy - 1985

Erik Naggum photo

“Sufficiently advanced political correctness is indistinguishable from sarcasm.”

Erik Naggum (1965–2009) Norwegian computer programmer

Usenet signatures

Reza Pahlavi photo

“The idea of reform has been discredited and came to an ultimate dead end. It was unthinkable that this regime could ever reform itself. There is no process of change that could come from within.”

Reza Pahlavi (1960) Last crown prince of the former Imperial State of Iran

As quoted by Rachel Makabi, 'A Race Against Time' http://www.rezapahlavi.org/details_article.php?article=34&page=5, Newsweek International, Sept 4, 2006.
Interviews, 2006

Buckminster Fuller photo

“There is more recognition now that things are changing, but not because there is a political move to do it. It is simply a result of the information being there. Our survival won’t depend on political or economic systems. It’s going to depend on the courage of the individual to speak the truth, and to speak it lovingly and not destructively. It’s saying what you really know and feel is the truth, in all directions.”

Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983) American architect, systems theorist, author, designer, inventor and futurist

From 1980s onwards, Norie Huddle interview (1981)
Context: There is more recognition now that things are changing, but not because there is a political move to do it. It is simply a result of the information being there. Our survival won’t depend on political or economic systems. It’s going to depend on the courage of the individual to speak the truth, and to speak it lovingly and not destructively. It’s saying what you really know and feel is the truth, in all directions. Our greatest vulnerability lies in the amount of misinformation and misconditioning of humanity. I’ve found the educations systems are full of it. You have to examine each word and ask yourself, "Is that the right word for that?" — the integrity and the courage of the individual to speak his own truth and not to go along with the crowd, yet not making others seem ignorant. After a while, if enough human beings are doing it, then everybody will start going in the right direction.

Mohsin Hamid photo

“Time only moves in one direction. Remember that. Things always change.”

Source: The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Michael Swanwick photo
Clarice Lispector photo

Related topics